Chuckysal.com

Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport had more passengers pass
through its concourses than any other airport in the world last year,
according to a preliminary report released Wednesday by the Geneva-based
Airports Council International.

It is the second year in a row Hartsfield-Jackson has been dubbed the
world’s busiest airport in both number of passengers and number of
flights.

“This keeps our region and our city in everybody’s awareness,” said Ben
DeCosta, Hartsfield-Jackson’s general manager. “I’m pleased we’re still
out there.”

Earlier in the year, the Federal Aviation Administration confirmed that
Hartsfield-Jackson was the nation’s busiest airport based on the number
of flights taking off and landing in Atlanta. That designation also
meant it was the world’s busiest in terms of total flights.

Atlanta’s airport also showed up in the No. 1 spot for takeoffs and
landings in the council’s report — it showed 976,447 total “aircraft
movements” at Hartsfield-Jackson in 2006, a decrease of about half a
percent.

Hartsfield handled 84.8 million passengers last year, a decrease of
about 1 percent over the previous year, while Chicago’s O’Hare had 76.2
million, a decrease of .3 percent. London’s Heathrow came in third
worldwide with 67.5 million passengers.

The council said traffic at U.S. airports declined — about 2 percent
— for a number of reasons, including the restructuring of Delta Air
Lines and Northwest Airlines and the closure of Independence Air. Total
passenger traffic was up worldwide about 5 percent to 4.4 billion.

Traffic at some U.S. airports did see improvement. Denver saw an
increase of 9 percent, while Las Vegas saw a 4.3 percent jump.

Memphis — headquarters of Federal Express — continued to have the
world’s busiest airport for cargo, handling 3.7 million metric tons.
Atlanta placed a paltry 28th on the cargo list, handling about 747,000
metric tons.

TOP 10 Busiest Airports
Hartsfield-Jackson — 84.8 million
Chicago O’Hare — 76.2 million
London Heathrow —- 67.5 million
Tokyo Haneda — 65.2 million
Los Angeles Int’l — 61 million
Dallas-Fort Worth Int’l — 60 million
Paris Charles d Gaulle — 56.8 million
Frankfurt Int’l — 52.8 million
Beijing Int’l — 48.5 million
Denver Int’l — 47.3 million

Published on: 03/08/07
By Jim Tharpe - The Atlanta Journal-Constitution Article Link

written by Chuckysal